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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24156328">A Father Like That</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouvaireafterdark/pseuds/prouvaireafterdark'>prouvaireafterdark</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Michael Sanders AU [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Boys In Love, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hate Crimes, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Jesse Manes' A+ Parenting, M/M, Michael Guerin Loves Alex Manes, Michael Guerin Needs a Hug, Michael Sanders AU, POV Walt Sanders, Protective Michael, Protective Walt Sanders, Walt Sanders is a Good Father, What-If</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:08:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,924</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24156328</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/prouvaireafterdark/pseuds/prouvaireafterdark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Muffled cries greet Walt’s ears when he stumbles home, dead tired from a long day at the auto shop. The sound wakes him up immediately, his whole body on high alert until he spots Michael on the couch, Alex’s face buried in his shirt as he struggles to control his sobs. </p><p>“What happened?” Walt barks immediately.</p><p>***</p><p>Walt Sanders comes home to find his son's boyfriend covered in bruises.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Manes &amp; Walt Sanders, Michael Guerin &amp; Walt Sanders, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Michael Sanders AU [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742722</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>442</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Father Like That</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This one's a lot heavier than the fluffy double drabble I posted earlier today, but I hope you like it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">Muffled cries greet Walt’s ears when he stumbles home, dead tired from a long day at the auto shop. The sound wakes him up immediately, his whole body on high alert until he spots Michael on the couch, Alex’s face buried in his shirt as he struggles to control his sobs.</p><p class="p1">“What happened?” Walt barks immediately.</p><p class="p1">Alex flinches away from Michael like he’s been burned, black makeup smudged around his wide, terrified eyes. It’s then that Walt notices the welt beginning to bloom on Alex’s cheek and what looks like fingerprints covering the side of his neck. Michael’s eyes are wet too, so much hurt shining through them that Walt feels a heady mix of rage and empathy twist in his gut. He takes a steadying breath and pockets his keys, closing the front door behind him as he thinks about what he should do.</p><p class="p1">First thing’s first, they need to put some ice on that shiner.</p><p class="p1">“Michael,” he says, voice gruff. “Should be some peas in the freezer. Why don’t you go wrap ‘em in a dish towel and bring ‘em in here?”</p><p class="p1">Michael opens his mouth to argue, but Walt cuts him off.</p><p class="p1">“He’ll be here when you get back,” Walt promises. “Go on.”</p><p class="p1">Michael nods reluctantly, and says, “I’ll be right back,” as he leans forward to press his lips to Alex’s temple. He gets up off the couch when he pulls away and heads toward the kitchen.</p><p class="p1">Alex is shaking where he sits, hunched in on himself as if bracing for another blow. It makes Walt furious to see such a sweet kid so upset, but he suppresses his anger as best he can—he doesn’t want Alex to think he’s angry with <em>him</em>.</p><p class="p1">Walt grabs the green flannel blanket from the back of his recliner. He takes a step toward Alex, but the kid freezes, eyeing him warily.</p><p class="p1">“Easy, kid,” he says, offering him the blanket. “Not gonna hurt you.”</p><p class="p1">Alex accepts the blanket slowly and wraps it tightly around his own shoulders. Walt takes a seat across from him in his recliner and leans forward, his elbows on his knees.</p><p class="p1">“What happened, son?” he asks as soft as he can manage.</p><p class="p1">Alex looks away and doesn’t say anything, his bottom lip trembling between his teeth, but it’s all the answer Walt really needs. He’s heard enough from Michael about Alex’s piece of shit father to make an educated guess.</p><p class="p1">Michael rushes into the living room a moment later, armed with a hand towel and a bag of frozen peas.</p><p class="p1">“Make sure the bag’s not touching his face,” Walt reminds him, and it’s a testament to how shaken Michael is that he doesn’t sass him about it.</p><p class="p1">Michael wraps the bag up and gingerly holds it up to Alex’s face. Alex hisses at the contact and Michael whispers a string of apologies. Alex takes the bag from him and holds it up to his own face, but he lets Michael draw him flush against his side with an arm around his shoulders.</p><p class="p1">Michael relaxes a little with Alex at his side, but Walt knows his boy—he can see how scared and frayed at the edges he is right now, and Walt <em>needs</em> to know what happened.</p><p class="p1">“You gonna be okay by yourself a minute, Alex?” Walt asks eventually.</p><p class="p1">“Dad,” Michael protests, sounding a little raw, like the very idea of leaving Alex alone right now is too much to contemplate.</p><p class="p1">“It’s okay,” Alex tells him, and Walt can tell the words take effort to get out. “I’ll be fine.”</p><p class="p1">Michael doesn’t look like he buys that.</p><p class="p1">“Come on, kid,” he says as he stands. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”</p><p class="p1">Walt is leaning against the counter when Michael joins him a few minutes later, eyes shining with unshed tears.</p><p class="p1">“What happened?” Walt asks.</p><p class="p1">“It’s my fault,” he says, a tremor in his voice as he rakes his fingers through his curls. “His dad found a note I wrote to him in class the other day and he just <em>lost it</em> and it’s—it’s <em>all my</em> <em>fault</em>.”</p><p class="p1">Walt’s heart breaks along with Michael’s voice. He pulls him into a one-armed hug, lets Michael bury his sobs in his shoulder when his tears start to fall.</p><p class="p1">“None of this is on you, you got that?” Walt whispers fiercely into his ear. “<em>None</em> of it.”</p><p class="p1">Michael just cries harder, his hands coming up to grip Walt’s jacket.</p><p class="p1">“It’s gonna be okay,” he tries to soothe him. He’s never been great at this emotion stuff, but he made a promise a long time ago to look out for this kid and damn him if he isn’t going to honor it. He owes Miss Nora that and a hell of a lot more.</p><p class="p1">As Michael’s cries begin to subside, Walt pulls back to look at him, wiping his tears with grease-stained fingers, hands on either side of his face.</p><p class="p1">“I’m gonna say something and I want you to listen good, you hear?”</p><p class="p1">Michael sniffles and nods.</p><p class="p1">“That boy’s a good kid,” Walt tells him, “and there ain’t a goddamn thing wrong with you for loving him. With a father like that—if it wasn’t your note, it would’ve been something else. None of this is your fault, you understand?”</p><p class="p1">A few more tears slip down Michael’s cheeks, but he nods.</p><p class="p1">“Good,” Walt sighs.</p><p class="p1">Michael throws his arms around Walt’s shoulders, drawing him into a tight hug. Walt lets him hang on as long as he needs.</p><p class="p1">“Thank you,” Michael mumbles against his collar a minute later.</p><p class="p1">“For what?”</p><p class="p1">Michael pulls back to look at him. His eyes are still wet, but he looks better than he did a minute ago.</p><p class="p1">“For not being a father like that.”</p><p class="p1">Emotion wells up inside him. “Aw, hell, kid,” Walt says, unsure how to really respond.</p><p class="p1">Michael smiles at him like he understands. He sniffles again and steps out of the hug.</p><p class="p1">“Can I go now?” he asks, wiping at his eyes.</p><p class="p1">“Yeah, go on,” Walt nods.</p><p class="p1">He waits until Michael is out of sight before he picks up his landline and dials the sheriff’s office.</p><p class="p1">When he hangs up, he walks back into the living room.</p><p class="p1">“I just called the sheriff’s office,” Walt announces when he enters the room. “Someone will be here to take your statement in a few minutes.”</p><p class="p1">Alex’s eyes go wide and panicked. “What? Why?”</p><p class="p1">“Because I’m breaking the law if I don’t, kid,” Walt explains.</p><p class="p1">“Fuck,” Alex whispers to himself, lowering the bag of peas from his face. “He’s gonna kill me.”</p><p class="p1">“<em>No</em>, he’s <em>not</em>,” Michael says adamantly. “I won’t let him touch you again, Alex.”</p><p class="p1">“Michael,” Walt warns when he notices the old cup of water on the coffee table start to tremble.</p><p class="p1">Michael turns to see Walt’s patented You Better Calm Down Before You Start Making Shit Levitate look. He turns a little sheepish and nods.</p><p class="p1">“My dad is <em>friends</em> with the sheriff,” Alex continues, oblivious. “He has <em>resources</em>. He’s just gonna make this disappear.”</p><p class="p1">“We’ll see about that,” Walt says, eyeing the dark bruises on Alex’s throat. He’s never had a lot of faith in the system, but this case of abuse is as cut and dry as they come. At the very least, it should buy Alex enough time to turn 18 without his dad making his life a living hell.</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">Michelle Valenti knocks on his door right on time. Walt steps outside for a cigarette or three while she takes Alex and Michael’s statements.</p><p class="p1">She joins him on the steps when she’s finished to get his version of the story. He tells her everything he knows.</p><p class="p1">“Is Alex okay staying here tonight?” she asks after she’s filled out her form. “I don’t mind taking him to my house if you’re not comfortable with that, but I think he’ll be happier with Michael nearby.”</p><p class="p1">Walt sizes her up before he says, “Kid says your husband and his dad are pretty close.”</p><p class="p1">She bristles at that, eyes narrowing in offense. “I hope you’re not implying that I would bury an accusation of child abuse because of my husband’s alleged relationship with the perpetrator.”</p><p class="p1">“‘Course not,” he says, taking a drag from his cigarette. “That’d be a serious case of police misconduct, wouldn’t it.”</p><p class="p1">“It would,” she agrees.</p><p class="p1">They stare at each other a minute. Walt decides he believes her.</p><p class="p1">“Glad we understand each other then,” Walt says, flicking the ash building at the tip of his cigarette off the side of the stairs before he adds, “And Alex can stay as long as he wants.”</p><p class="p1">“Okay,” she nods. “If he needs anything, just let me know.”</p><p class="p1">“Will do.”</p><p class="p1">Her tail lights have long since disappeared down the dirt road leading to his single wide by the time he pulls himself out of his seat and goes back inside.</p><p class="p1">He finds Michael fast asleep with his head on Alex’s lap. Alex looks up at him when he enters, his fingers pausing in Michael’s hair.</p><p class="p1">“You want something to drink?” Walt asks him as he takes his boots off by the door.</p><p class="p1">“No, I’m okay, thank you,” he answers.</p><p class="p1">“You sure?” he asks, doubtful. The boy’s gotta be dehydrated. “It’s no trouble.”</p><p class="p1">Alex thinks on it a moment.</p><p class="p1">“I’ll take some water, please.”</p><p class="p1">Walt nods and heads for the kitchen, filling a glass with tap water for Alex and grabbing a beer from the fridge for himself.</p><p class="p1">He hands the water to Alex and then collapses in his recliner, taking a long pull from his beer. It’s ice cold and exactly what he fucking needs right now.</p><p class="p1">“He won’t just let me go, you know,” Alex says quietly a moment later. Walt doesn’t need to ask who he means.</p><p class="p1">“I ain’t afraid of your daddy, son,” Walt says, taking another deep drink.</p><p class="p1">“You should be,” Alex says, deadly serious as he watches his own thumb run along the rim of his glass.</p><p class="p1">Walt sighs. “Why don’t you let me worry about that?”</p><p class="p1">Alex looks up at him then, eyes searching.</p><p class="p1">“Why are you helping me?” Alex asks at last. “Why are you being so nice?”</p><p class="p1">Walt sighs. He tips his beer back and drains the rest of it before he leans forward to answer him.</p><p class="p1">“Because you are that boy’s entire world,” he says, pointing at Michael asleep in Alex’s lap. “And he’s mine.”</p><p class="p1">He watches Alex’s lips part as those words sink in, watches him swallow down his emotions a second later.</p><p class="p1">“I don’t know how to thank you,” Alex says.</p><p class="p1">“No need,” Walt brushes him off. He stands up, empty bottle hanging loosely from his fingers. “Just make sure he gets to bed, alright? That couch is a lumpy piece of shit and he’ll bitch about it all morning if you don’t.”</p><p class="p1">That makes Alex laugh, soft and genuine. “I will.”</p><p class="p1">“Night then,” Walt says, and walks off down the hall in search of his own bedroom without waiting to hear a reply.</p><p class="p1">He collapses onto his bed when he gets there, feeling the weight of the day like a physical thing. He has no clue how long he’ll be able to support three people on his meager salary or what Jesse Manes will do when he finds out they’ve filed a police report against him, but that’s tomorrow’s problem.</p><p class="p1">Tonight, he can at least take solace in the fact that he’s somehow managed to raise a smart, compassionateboy who loves and is loved equally and without restraint.If he can pull that off, anything is possible.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>There'll probably be more of this series to come, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to see let me know!</p><p>Find me on tumblr <a href="https://prouvaireafterdark.tumblr.com/">@prouvaireafterdark!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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